Post Election, Obama Admin. Signs On To UN Arms Treaty

(The Hill) The Obama administration defied a majority of the Senate on Tuesday by voting to approve a United Nations treaty on the trade of small arms and other conventional weapons.

The treaty, overwhelmingly approved by the U.N., requires countries to create internal mechanisms to ensure that their arms exports aren’t likely to be used to harm civilians or violate human rights laws.

The treaty stalled last summer after the Obama administration withheld its support ahead of the November elections. Since then, the administration has sought additional language protecting hunting and self-defense rights to help placate gun-rights advocates while pushing hard for the treaty to take effect.

Is anyone particularly surprised that Obama did one thing pre-election and takes a contradictory stance post-election?

Anyway, the treaty would require a 2/3rds vote to pass the Senate, and there is now possible way that 66 Senators will vote for it. Senator James Inhofe has already said it’s a non-starter. I can’t imagine Harry Reid even bothering to bring it to the Senate floor, instead simply allowing it to languish in committee.

Now, is the treaty really that bad? Not in its draft form, as I previously discussed. Yet, there are still issues that interfere with existing US law and 2nd Amendment Rights, not to mention sovereignty. Furthermore, quite a few of the nations who voted for the treaty will be the first to break it, caring little for international law. We do have to consider that the treaty is, like so many others, yet another way to shift more power into the hands of the United Nations (an organization full of graft, misconduct, wastefulness, dictators, murderers, and various other bad people).

Administration officials hailed passage of the treaty, which Secretary of State John Kerry said would strengthen global security while protecting the rights of countries to conduct “legitimate” arms trade.

When Liberals start yammering on about protecting rights, it’s time to, as we say in the South, cover your butt, because they’re looking to screw you.